Beyond the Willows
by Ashe Flight
Summary: Orihime was but a girl from a fishing village with eyes of the strangest gray and a soul unsullied by the harsh world. In the midst of the Meiji Restoration, when everything is taken from her, she will enter the world of Geisha and will rise to become Japan's most beautiful. She will beguile the most powerful men, all to get revenge on the man who stole and trampled on her heart.


**Ashe's Rant Corner!**

**Welcome everyone to my newest story! I know what you guys are thinking. "What the hell is she doing posting a new story when she can't even update her other stories?" Well guys, this little baby has been on my computer for years already and I just really had to let this out or else I would go crazy. This story is a lot different from my other stories mostly because this has darker themes and tones and will be written in the 1st person perspective which I don't usually do. **

**This was inspired by Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, one of my favorite books. It will be patterned after the life of Sayuri (mostly) but the plot and twist of the story will be very very different. The chapters are based on _Hanakotoba, _which is the Japanese version on flower language and so every chapter will be named after a flower. **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this one and please do review :)**

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Bleach (sadly)**

**SUMMARY: Orihime was but a girl from a fishing village with eyes of the strangest gray and a soul unsullied by the harsh reality. But when everything is taken from her, she will enter the mysterious world of Geisha and will rise to become Japan's most beautiful. In the midst of the Meiji Restoration, she will become a willow, strong, subtle and graceful but veiled and inhabiting a separate reality, and beguile the most powerful men, all to get revenge on the man who stole and trampled on her heart.**

**彼岸花**

**(Higanbana)**

**Red Spider Lily**

_Geisha is an artist of the floating world._

_She dances._

_She sings._

_She entertains you._

_The rest is shadows._

_The rest is secret._

It would be easy to say that I was a child born and raised in the privileged town of Karakura, in the heart of Kyoto where the most famous _hanamachi _was. Brought up into the colorful world of performing by a Geisha mother and her wealthy patron. But that would be a blatant lie for there was nothing sort of glamorous from where I was born or how I grew up in. In fact, I did not even know what a Geisha was before coming to Kyoto.

Laughable as it may seem, I was from Fugai, an impoverished fishing village east of Kyoto. I lived in a small rickety hut by the cliff with my brother, Sora, and my grandfather. My Onii-chan was a tall young man with soft brown hair and even softer brown eyes. He smelt like the sea. Actually, we all did but Onii-chan smelt of it the most. Just like grandfather, he was a fisherman. He was the one who brought food onto our table, he looked after me and taught me how to read and write.

Sora onii-chan was my whole world. He was always smiling. Even when we did not have anything to eat and our stomachs churned from the lack of sustenance, Onii-chan never failed to smile.

And in my mind, he will always be preserved in this form. Forever young, time never touching his youthful face.

When he was out at sea, I would often sit by a log and watch as the waves crashed into the boulders. There, I would wait for Onii-chan to come home. Often times, my grandfather would sit by me and tell me stories as we looked out into the blue horizon. It was Grandpa who filled my young head with wonderful stories full of lessons and wisdom. And though I loved every story he told, I would only come to fully understand them years later. One of the things he often mentioned was that Onii-chan's name fit him so well because his spirit was as free as the wind and his aspirations as vast as the sky.

"But you, my dear child, you are water" he would say in his quiet rumbling old voice. "Water adapts. Water is change. Water is life. Water paves its own path"

Back then, I had no idea what he meant when he would say that I had water in me. Now that I think of it, he must have associated water with my eyes. Unlike Onii-chan's and Grandpa's dark brown eyes, mine were a luminous gray, almost bluish when the light hit my eyes right. In our village, my eyes were considered both a wonder and an oddity. Even the shade of my bright auburn hair was something peculiar.

One day, when I was seven years old, I came running home, drenched and grimy for the village children had pushed me into the stream. "Onii-chan!" I cried out, wiping at the tears that soaked my cheeks, smudging dirt on my face.

Immediately, Onii-chan dropped the nets he and Grandpa were mending and rushed towards me. "What happened, Orihime?" he asked, worry written all over his face. He lifted my arm, assessing my bleeding elbow.

"A-Am I really?

Question dawned into his face and he frowned as he said "Really what?"

"Am I really a _mononoke? _An _ayakashi?"_ I said in between sobs.

"Of course not!" Onii-chan chuckled, scooping me up his arms and bringing me inside the hut. He sat me down as he retrieved a cloth to dry me.

"But Riku-kun said that's why I didn't look like you or Granpa. And why I have such scary eyes" I cried harder, remembering how those boys cornered me and dragged me towards the woods. They called me an _ayakashi_, an evil spirit, and decided to rid Fugai of an omen and purify me in the stream. "Is it because I am an _ayakashi?" _I choked on my tears.

Through blurry eyes, I watched my brother smile kindly at me. Then I heard my Granpa say "Riku? You mean Hiroshi's son?" his tone clearly agitated.

I nodded. Fugai was a small village where everybody knew everybody. Where everyone knew every little bit about everyone.

I clutched the blanket Onii-chan had wrapped around me and cried harder. The children had never been kind to me. Why they treated me so, I could not fathom, even now that I am a grown woman. Though I have been through a lot, even though I was but seven, being shoved into a stream and forced to stay underwater until I was 'purified' was traumatic. My chest and throat hurt from all the water that I had swallowed and my body ached from trying to push the boys away from me.

I suddenly felt my brother sit beside me. "You're not an ayakashi" he said in his soft voice, "nor are you a mononoke"

"Then why am I so different, Onii-chan" I begged him. I had to know why I seemed not to belong in our village.

He turned to face me and he cupped my cheek. I stared up at those gentle eyes that always offered me strength. "Because, you are a princess from the moon" he said in a whisper as though afraid that Granpa would hear him.

"Princess?" I gasped, "I am not a princess!"

Onii-chan burst out laughing at my reaction. "Of course you are" he patted my head, "You are Orihime, right? The weaver princess!" He then pulled me to sit onto his lap as we moved closer to the fire. He rubbed my shoulders and ran a cloth through my hair. "You are not from this world, my little sister, that is why you much more beautiful than anyone else" he kissed my head tenderly.

In the years to come, people from all over Japan would call me beautiful but none of them would ever sound as genuine or even close to as sincere as when my big brother did so.

"Don't fill her head with ridiculous nonsense, Sora" Grandpa scolded. "Just remember, Orihime-chan" he regarded me, "Your eyes are a blessing from the gods. They entrusted those eyes to you because you are meant for great things"

To this very day, Granpa's words echo inside my head. Neither I nor Onii-chan ever thought that his prediction would come true. Oh Ojii-chan, if only you knew.

The next day, Grandpa beat Hiroshi-san with his cane, for not teaching his son never to hurt girls, he said.

You must be wondering why I had not mentioned my mother or my father yet. Well, do not worry, dear friends, they are alive and well. They simply did not live with us.

Like I said, my mother was not a Geisha, she was far from one. My mother's name was Natsumi, which meant 'summer beauty'. True to her name, my mother was a tantalizing woman. She had eyes the color of honey and long silky dark auburn hair that curtained her back. Mother, or so I heard, worked as a _yujo _in Kyoto. Unbeknownst to me, yujo meant prostitute, or rather a woman of pleasure. But being a naïve little girl, I admired her and thought it was wonderful that my very own mother was a known person in a city that was so different from ours.

But mother was an estranged woman. From what I understood, she hated Sora because he was the son from father's first wife. She disliked Grandpa, only because he was her husband's father. And she detested me, because I looked too much like my father.

And so she was never home. To be completely honest, I preferred it that way. When I was younger, mother stayed briefly with us. She would hit me at the slightest stumble and beat me whenever I cried. There was nothing I could do to please her and so she chose to distance herself from me.

But there was a brief moment in my life when I felt that I had a mother. It was on a summer day when I was 4 when I found my mother by the sea, watching Onii-chan and father cast the net into the water. She sat on a log that drifted from the shore, she was singing, a lovely lullaby that floated in the wind. I stood a few feet behind her and listened to her song. I had never heard my mother sing, only her angry shouts and bitter curses.

_Those good old days, I pray will not fade._

_When I was young and in Mother's care._

_Oh, to hear dear Mother's lullaby again._

_A song of love with the swaying of the cradle_

I slowly walked up to the edge of the log, mother's back was turned to me and so I was sure it was safe to move a little closer to her.

_In deep and peaceful slumber_

_The stars watch over me in vigil_

_Life was heaven, in the arms of Mother_

_Now my heart longs for the lulling cradle._

I closed my eyes, embedding the sound of my mother's voice in my head. I would take it with me and remember it forever.

_Lull me Mother, in my dear old cradle_

_Oh Mother_

She hummed the last parts and I felt my eyelids grow heavy but jerked abruptly when I felt a shift in the log. I peeked to see what my mother was doing and found that she had already left. I turned again and stared at the sand beneath my feet. "Lull me Mother" I repeated in a small and uncertain voice. "Oh Mother" I sang.

Suddenly, I felt a shadow at my side and I whipped my head to the figure of my mother, towering over me. She scrutinized me with cold eyes. I flinched when she lifted a hand but much to my surprise, she did not hit me. Instead, she offered her hand to me. I dithered, of course, but placed my small hand over hers. She grasped it lightly and pulled me to stand up. She sat back on the log and tugged me to move closer to her.

"Those good old days, I pray will not fade" she began to sing.

I gaped at her in amazement, I could hear her sweet voice better now. She then paused and looked at me expectantly. I panicked for a moment, unsure what to do, then she said "Go on" and nodded at me encouragingly. Only then did I realize that she wanted me to sing.

"T-Those good old days" I started shakily, "I pray will not fade"

"Don't hesitate child" she said, strangely in a kind voice. "Your voice must be clear as the waters or else no one would want to listen to you" she gestured for me to come closer to her and as I did, I felt her wrap her arms around my tiny waist. I was afraid of what my mother might do and so I clenched my eyes close. But as I felt warmth on my back and her slender arms settle me onto her lap, I could not help but feel elated. This was the first time she held me.

"Those good old days, I pray will not fade" she sang again, to me this time, "When I was young and in Mother's care"

I gazed at her, taking in her honey irises and the thick lashes that surrounded them, her small chin and her smooth hair that brushed my cheeks. She looked down at me again and this time, I felt more confident.

"Those good days, I pray will not fade"

I paused to see if I had displeased her. A strange emotion flashed across her features for a second, and then she smiled at me. A small smile that seemed to say, ' yes that's it'. I felt pride burst in my small chest at her approval.

That afternoon, she taught me the whole song.

That night, she left and never returned.

My father, on the other hand, was a sailor. His name was Tatsuo. I've heard the elders of the village say that I inherited most of the water in me from him. "But he is the yin of water" they would murmur. Granpa had once mentioned that father belonged in the sea because he was just as erratic, turbulent and uncontrollable. Everybody wondered how a foul-mouthed and ill-tempered man could ever sire two children who were so mild mannered.

Just like mother, father was almost never home. He hated Fugai and thought it too small for him. "There is so much more to life than this fish stench" he once told Grandpa. But unlike mother, father would come home once in a blue moon. And when he did, we could never really tell how he would treat us.

He really was like the sea. Sometimes he was calm and amiable. We would go to the beach and play in the sand or he would take us to see the sunflowers that bloomed at the top of the hills during summer. Other times, he would fish with Onii-chan and tell us stories about life at sea.

But most of the time, father was a monster.

He was often drunk and when he was, he was violent. He would curse at us, throw things at us and beat us for no reason at all. Sometimes, father would beat Onii-chan so hard until he threw up blood. I believe it was because he did not see us as children. He only saw us as mouths to feed and that annoyed him to no end. And so when Onii-chan was old enough to start fishing and providing for us, father stopped coming home.

͠

One morning, I decided I wanted to bring Grandpa some flowers because he was feeling under the weather. There was a small patch of Hyacinths a little west of the village square. I skipped happily, imagining that I must avoid the cracks on the dirt road or else I would fall off the face of the earth.

As I made my way towards the flowers, I carved lines onto the dirt with a stick, reminding me that this was where I came from so that I would not get lost. Blue men often do that. They mislead you so that you lose your way. As I concentrated on marking my footsteps, I failed to notice the man trailing behind me. "What are you doing, little girl?" he asked.

I jumped in surprise, I did not even hear his footsteps. The first thing my eyes saw were a pair of wooden sandals that I would later learn were called _geta. _I gawked at the elevated piece of wood that supported the man's feet. Here in Fugai, we only wear _waraji, _sandals made of rope straw and so I had never seen such footwear. My eyes traveled higher, and I took in the sight of the man's green kimono and the dark olive green _haori_ he wore over it. His clothes looked far more decent than mine. I looked up to see his face. He was much taller than my Onii-chan. I could tell because I had to crane my neck just so I could see him. My eyes widened when I caught sight of the sandy blond hair that peeked out from his striped bucket hat. His eyes, I could not tell if they were a dark gray, seemed black at the shadows that cast over them.

He was not from Fugai or from this country, that much I can tell. I have never set eyes on anyone who had hair much lighter than mine.

"Are you alright, little girl?" he asked

I continued to stare at his face. He was a very handsome man. "I'm fine" I managed to say.

He bent down to my level and studied my face. Just like all the other people who meet me for the first time, he gasped. "Oh my! Such astonishing eyes!" he exclaimed, "You must be Inoue-san's sister"

"You know Onii-chan?" I asked, absolutely thrilled that someone like him knew my brother.

"Oh yes!" he opened his fan, covering half of his face, "He delivers the best fish" he said.

I smiled at the man, "Yes Onii-chan does work hard to get fish" I told him, proud of my brother's hard work.

He stared at me again, a kind light in his eyes. "May I know your name?"

"My name is Orihime"

"Oh your Highness" he bowed before me, making me giggled. "What is a princess doing in the middle of the meadow?"

I liked this man. He was so much fun to talk to. "I am not a princess, Mr- ano –"

"Urahara Kisuke" he took his hat off, like a knight bowing to her queen.

"I am not a princess, Urahara-san" I said, "I'm a fisherman's sister." I was not ashamed of coming from such humble backgrounds. Urahara-san's large hand rested on my head, he ruffled my hair as he chuckled, "My, I have never met a girl dislikes being called a princess"

I looked directly at the man's eyes. "It is not that I dislike being called a princess, Urahara-san" I replied, eyes never wavering from his, "but I feel that I should not pretend to be someone I am not, I am proud to be a fisherman's sister. Fishermen provide food for people and so being one who helps fishermen, I believe she is just as honorable"

I must have stunned Urahara-san for he dropped the hand that was on my head and his eyes widened. I was afraid that I had said too much and offended the strange man but my thoughts were eased when he let out a light laugh. "What a clever little girl" he smiled at me. "Tell me, little princess, what brings you to my humble backyard?" he probed.

"Well I wanted to get my Ojii-chan some flowers but the little blue men often cause me to lose my way. So I am marking my path" I explained, drawing lines to show him how.

"Blue men?"

I nodded, "They confuse people, so you must be careful Urahara-san" I warned him. He was my new friend now and so I would help him ward off those mischievous blue pests. "Urahara-san" I called to him, "Are you new here?"

He stretched up to his full height, I only reached his hip. "Yes, I recently moved here" he pointed to a large building that stood by the docks, "That is the Urahara Seafood Corporation, I own that" he said.

I've seen the Urahara Seafood Corporation because Onii-chan loads the fish he caught there and sells them there. I smiled gratefully at Urahara-san, he has been helping out family. "Thank you" I bowed to him.

"For what, dear princess?"

"Because you buy Onii-chan's fish, we are able to eat" I remained in my position.

Again, Urahara-san chuckled. He seemed to find me funny, as to why, I did not know. "Oh Orihime-chan, it is always a pleasure helping Inoue-san, besides he helps me as well so I am only returning a favor"

We walked a little further and into the fields of flowers. I told Urahara-san more about the little blue men that bother me so often and he seemed to be amused by my stories. But as we talked, from the corner of my eye, I saw peculiar red flowers blooming near a secluded part of that area.

Following my gaze, Urahara ushered me towards the vibrant plants. "Those are _higanbana_" he said, "Red Spider Lilies"

I had never seen such lush red flowers before. The petals of the flowers looked almost like blood dripping from its core. It had such a fascinating color and a shape that seemed to reach out to me. "They say that when you see a _higanabana"_ Urahara's voice broke my musing for the flower, " it means you have just seen someone you are likely never to see again"

Looking back, it is quite ironic and tragic that the person who brought me to see these unworldly flowers, was one of those people I would never see again.

͠

One afternoon, about a month after I met Urahara-san, he brought me to the Urahara Seafood Corporation. He said we would wait for Onii-chan to finish and insisted we have tea in his office.

Apparently, Urahara-san is from Kyoto and has other establishments there as well. I told him that my parents do not come home anymore and that it is Onii-chan who keeps us alive. Urahara-san gazed at me with sympathetic eyes, "You know, Orihime-chan" he began, "even though your brother is already a man now, I still believe that he needs parents who will guide him"

"But we have Ojii-chan"

"Oh but Ojii-chan will not always be there" he clutched my hand, "and your Ojii-chan is already old. He needs to be able to rest and have tea all afternoon. You still need someone who will look after you when he is gone"

I did not understand what he was saying. Where was Grandpa going? I did not know how to make of this. It has always been me, my brother and my grandfather. My innocent mind could not begin to imagine life without Grandpa.

"You see, dear princess, when I was your age, I lost my parents too. I became a street child for a few years until the Urahara family found me and adopted me. I became this successful because I had someone to guide me"

The whole day, I thought about his words. Urahara-san was a great man. He was very kind to us and often visited our little hut just to see if Grandpa was doing well. He always wore his dark green clothes but they always suit him. I then tried to imagine what it would be like if I had been dressed so nicely, if I had lived in a place as elegant as Urahara-san's house. And then, his words hit me. He was planning on adopting us.

"Onii-chan" I tugged on my brother's calloused hand, "I think Urahara-san wants to adopt us" I whispered.

"Nonsense Orihime" he let out a breathy laugh, "why on earth would Urahara-san want to adopt us? Besides, Ojii-chan is our legal guardian, he would never give us up" He then gripped my hand tighter as we walked back home.

Just a few months later, Grandpa passed away. It was due to cardiac arrest, the doctor explained, but that did not mean anything to a village girl like me. The reason was irrelevant. Grandpa was gone. And I felt as though a part of my heart died along with him.

͠

Somehow, Onii-chan and I managed by ourselves. Urahara-san came over more often, checking on us like a father would to his children but still he had not adopted us.

It was on the year that I turned nine that our lives began to crumble. The sea had turned blood red and the fishes would wash ashore dead and rotting. The revolting smell of decaying fish clung to the humid air. It was then, that our village began to grow hungry. Storms wreaked havoc and destroyed the few crops that the farmers grew, famine settled in our small village. No one was spared, not even Urahara-san.

Because the fish died even before fishermen could set out at sea, Urahara-san's company faltered as well. There was no fish to process and so there was no product to sell. The company had closed down and so he was forced to go back to Kyoto.

One night, when I turned in the futon, I felt that the space beside me was cold. Fear gripped my chest and I bolted from the bed, eyes frantically searching the hut for my brother.

"Orihime?" Onii-chan's voice snapped me from my trance. "Did you have a nightmare?" he asked.

He sat by the low table, near the fire, a lamp illuminating his brush and paper. Though we are not as knowledgeable as the people from Kyoto, we are not illiterate either. We knew how to read and write and account the money that we earn. "What are you doing, Onii-chan?" I dragged a blanket with me as I neared my brother.

"I am writing a letter" he replied simply

"To Urahara-san?" I tilted my head in question. Even though he returned to Kyoto, he would write to us often and ask how we were doing and if we were eating right.

Onii-chan shook his head and he averted his attention back to his letter, " I am writing to Otou-san" he uttered

"But why?"

"Because we cannot live like this anymore" he almost shouted at me. I knew why he was so frustrated. Since there was no fish and no crops, we were forced to forge for roots and whatever we could find that was edible. It tore my brother to pieced knowing that he could not provide for me and that we were becoming skin and bone by the day. "We need Otou-san" he sighed helplessly.

"But Urahara-san will adopt us" I declared, "He will and we won't go hungry – "

"He will not" Onii-chan cut me off, his tone uncharacteristically harsh. "Urahara-san has his own problems right now. We don't need to make things worse for him"

At that I dragged myself back to bed. It was raining heavily outside, the pattering of the rain drowning out the silence that filled the hut. It had become so empty without Grandpa. I sniffled at the memory of my dear grandfather. He was always the one who saved us from father. And now that he was gone, and Onii-chan was calling Otou-san back, who was going to stop him from beating us to death.

"Help us" I prayed to no one in particular

͠

About two months later, along with the return of Urahara-san, was our father. He looked so different now. Far older than what remembered but then again, it had been years since I last saw him.

"Otou-san" Onii-chan greeted him when he suddenly burst into the hut. I stood by my brother, bowing like him.

I peeked up to look at my father. He regarded us with unfeeling eyes. He scowled at our state, scrawny, dirty, and hungry. As Onii-chan lifted his head, he reeled back at the impact of father smacking him across the face. "How dare you send such a humiliating letter!" he roared.

Before I could even cry out for my brother, father already had him by the collar of his robe, punching him and sending him flying across the hut. "Ojii-chan is dead. And Orihime and I are starving, please help us" he shouted, marching towards Onii-chan. "You useless little shit!" he spat, "Do you even know what kind of shame you have brought me by sending that damned letter? Now the crewmen and the captain know about you and think I am a useless father!"

I tried to stop him. I threw myself at him, pleading for him to stop. The rage in his eyes as he looked down at me sent chills down my spine. He grabbed me by the shoulder and threw me across the floor. I yelped when I collided with the low table, my shoulder throbbing from the impact. "Help us!" I prayed to whatever and whoever would be able to hear me. I watched in horror as Onii-chan's nose began to bleed from father's punches.

But in the nick of time, Urahara-san came. A looked of absolute fury flashed in his usually kind eyes at the sight of us in disarray. He moved with unbelievable speed and before I knew it, father was knocked out cold on the floor.

He helped Onii-chan up, lending his shoulder for support. He then took my hand and wordlessly brought us back to his house.

We stayed at Urahara-san's for days, recuperating and just resting. In those few days that we spent with Urahara-san gave me a glimpse of what it would be like to have him for a father. Oh and what fun it was. And so every night, I prayed hard that Urahara-san would adopt us soon.

͠

One windy night, while I was tidying the hut up before Onii-chan returned from the market. I noticed that we had run out of firewood and so I took a lamp and headed towards the forest behind our hut. I picked up twigs and small branches that have fallen due to the storm and as I went further into the woods, I heard voices. Two men seemed to be arguing.

"Why are you interfering?" I recognized my father's voice.

"Because they are only children!" Was that Urahara-san? "I can't just let you-"

"Orihime?" Onii-chan's sudden appearance startled me, making me drop the pieces of wood I gathered, "What are you doing here?" he asked.

I placed a finger over my mouth, "Not too loud, Onii-chan" I whispered, "Otou-san might hear you"

His brows furrowed at me and I pointed at the direction where the figures of my father and Urahara-san stood. "I think Urahara-san is trying to convince Otou-san to let him adopt us" I said enthusiastically, but remembering to keep my voice down.

I could not tell if Onii-chan was pleased with the news or annoyed by it. He only moved forward and pushed me gently behind him. He neared the clearing to catch a bit of what the two men were talking about. Suddenly, Onii-chan's grip on my hand tightened. He dropped the wood he took from me and grabbed me and bolted back to our hut.

"Onii-chan?" I tried to ask but he only pressed me closer to his chest. This baffled me. What did he hear that made him so stricken with panic?

When we reached home, he started wrapping what little food we had into a small cloth. "What are you doing Onii-chan?" I asked. What on earth was happening? Why was he packing?

He crouched in front of me so that he could see my face, "Listen, Orihime" he said in a desperate tone, "we need to get out of here before father comes, if we don't we'll be-"

"Get your things" father's commanding voice interrupted Onii-chan. I turned to where father stood by the doorway and found Urahara-san standing behind him.

"Urahara-san!" I cheered but the man did not react. He only stared at me almost apologetically then averted his gaze to anything but me.

I felt Onii-chan stand slowly, "You can't do this to us" he said in a low and threatening voice.

A smirk crept onto my father's face and in the most inappropriate time, I realized how much my father had aged since I last saw him. Wrinkles formed beneath his eyes as he grinned frighteningly at Onii-chan.

"What are you talking about Sora?" he asked, "You'll do fine. Plus you'll bring in good money"

Money? What money?

"But Otou-san Orihime is only a child!" Onii-chan protested. He grasped my hand, of course, at that time, I did not understand why he did so. And if only I had held on as well, maybe things would have turned out differently.

"Stop yer yapping, boy and just do what you're told" father's voice was laced with annoyance and I knew for a fact that when his voice sounded like this, a beating would come after.

But even after the order, Onii-chan did not move. He held his ground and stared reproachfully at father. "Naw, never mind" my father waved off, "you don't have much anyway, just leave as you are" he shrugged.

Being only nine years old, I could not comprehend what was happening. I did not know why father was asking us to pack up what little we had. Were we going on a trip? Or was Urahara-san finally going to adopt us?

My reverie was cut short when my father let out a growl. Onii-chan still had not moved from his spot and he still held my hand, only more firmly this time. "You useless boy!" father was about to lunge at Onii-chan but as always, Urahara-san stopped him.

"Inoue-san" he said in his calm voice, "if you and Orihime could come with me please"

Hearing this, my hopes of having Urahara-san for a new father sparked once more. This was it! We were finally going to be a family. And so I thoughtlessly let go of my brother's hand and rushed towards the man who looked out for us and cared for us even though he barely knew us. I hugged his waist because that was where my height could reach. "Urahara-san!" I smiled up at him.

He smiled back at me but a sorrowful one. He placed a hand on top of my head. "Yes Princess?" he regarded me with a kind tone. I was glad but the remorseful gaze he cast at me confused me greatly.

"Orihime" Onii-chan called out to me, "come here"

I turned to my brother, his gentle brown eyes pleading for me to come to him. Going back, I wish I had gone to him. I wish I had held on to him. "But Onii-chan Urahara-san is going to adopt us" I was so foolishly convinced that he would. And so I held onto Urahara-san tighter.

My brother looked hurt and I hated seeing that expression but I hated staying with father more. "Orihime please" he tried again but this time, father would not stand for Onii-chan's complaints anymore. He marched towards Onii-chan and grabbed his arm, shoving him towards us.

"Are you going with them? Or are you staying here? Either way is fine with me because Orihime alone is enough money" he said. What did father mean by I was enough money? I wanted to ask father but I was too afraid. I did not want to get slapped.

So instead, I focused on my brother. He had such a pained expression, as though what he was thinking of made him suffer greatly. Father was forcing him to make a decision and fast for he was not a patient man. At that time, I thought father was asking Onii-chan if he wanted to get adopted or not, little did I know that it was far from that.

Finally, Onii-chan let out a heavy sigh. He looked dejectedly at me then steeled his gaze at Urahara-san. "Please take care of us" he bowed to the older man in a way that I have never seen my brother bow.

Gingerly, Urahara-san gave my hand to Onii-chan and said "Come then" before heading for his carriage. Onii-chan picked me up and held me close to his chest, " It will be alright, Orihime" he whispered soothingly to me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face at the junction between his neck and shoulders. I glanced at my father one last time. Memorizing his face, putting it deep inside my heart because even though he was not a good one, he was still my father. And to this day, I have not forgotten the last look he gave me. A look that had no trace of regret whatsoever.

I expected us to settle at Urahara-san's mansion but instead, in the dead of the night, he drove us to the city. It was a long and agonizing journey. We had to ride that locomotive machine that breathed steam. Later, I would learn it was called a train. During our trip, Urahara-san and my brother were silent. Only I spoke and they would simply smile or nod at what I had to say. All the while, Onii-chan kept me close and not once did he let go of my hand.

When we stepped out of the machine, I felt rather lightheaded. I looked around and everything was different. My bare feet were touching cold stone now and no longer soft dirt. The air smelt different as well, it smelt like tobacco, a little stuffy, a little difficult to breathe. The streets were filled with lanterns that made the pavement glow a faint yellow. I was pretty sure it was already late, and yet the lights in the city were still on. How peculiar.

Onii-chan tugged me to walk faster for I had begun to space out and gawk at almost everything my eyes laid upon. We moved swiftly, the sound of Urahara-san's geta reverberating in the narrow street that we were on. Abruptly, he stopped in front of one of the wooden gates and rapped on it.

I had never seen such an intricate gate before. Why was it so big? And almost all of the houses that we passed by had such elaborate architecture that was so different from what I was used to. It was as though I was thrown into a different world. A few minutes later, a woman with dark hair tied in a low ponytail opened the gates.

Another woman, one taller, emerged from the house. She was dressed in the most beautiful kimono I'd ever seen. Dark as the night with patterns of white lilies littered across the bottom. Her shiny ebony hair was elaborately pinned up with lovely glittering ornaments adorning it. Her face was painted white with a few hints of pink that defined her sharp features, her eyes lined with black making her eyes look like that of a felines and her lips, a blood red that made it look even fuller. She slipped her feet into elegantly embroidered silk sandals and she strutted out of the house but not before throwing me a glance that made the hairs on my nape stand.

I watched as she walked in a graceful manner that made her appear as though she was a butterfly fluttering in the night before disappearing into the endless labyrinth that this city was.

The older woman who had opened the gate, cleared her throat and stepped out and the light from the lanterns revealed dark gray eyes that regarded Urahara-san rather icily. Her eyes darted to me then, inspecting my thin form thoroughly.

"Is this her?" she inquired in an cold voice

"Yes"

She raised a brow at me then grabbed my hand and led me inside the gate. "She'll do" she muttered. I felt Onii-chan follow after me but the woman held her hand up to stop him. "This is an Okiya" she narrowed her eyes at him, "we have no use for you" she told my brother.

Alarm bells rang in my head. NO! They cannot separate me from my brother! I ripped my hand from the woman's grip and I ran to my brother. "Onii-chan!" I cried.

I heard the woman click her tongue irritably at my actions before she hauled me from my brother's hold and forced me into the gate. Onii-chan tried to hold onto me but Urahara-san restrained him, pulling him back and into a rickshaw that he had just hailed. "Orihime!" Onii-chan reached out to me. And I so desperately tried to get out of the woman's hold to go to him but I was too weak.

I cried. I bawled. I kicked. I fought. I screamed for him. But the woman had already shut the gate and Urahara-san and my brother had already boarded the rickshaw, carrying them away.

The woman clamped a hand over my mouth as I yelled, "Shut up. You'll wake everyone" she snapped. She shoved me roughly into the house and led me into a narrow hallway, stopping me in front of a room. "Let me take a good look at you" she said as she hastily turned me around so that the she could see my face in the light.

The moment the yellow glow of the lanterns hit my face, the woman gasped. "Dear God! What eyes!" she exclaimed, "Okaa-san will like you"

She knelt beside the door, "Aneue" she called in a soft tone. I heard someone grunt from inside. The woman shot her eyes threateningly at me, "You will not speak rudely to Okaa-san, let me speak for you" she demanded before sliding the door open.

Smoke assaulted my nose as I was pushed into the room. It smelt awful and I had the urge to cough but stopped myself. There was a figure of a woman seated behind a low table, obviously, she was the source of all the smoke.

"She is the girl from Urahara-san" the woman, who I would learn was Ikumi-san, said.

This Okaa-san person dropped what she was doing and stood from behind the table. She stalked towards me and loomed over me. Without all the smoke, I could see that she was not as old as I thought she would be. She was still quite young, maybe in her early or mid thirties. But her obsidian eyes held so much power and experience in them that maybe she was an old lady inside. I noticed immediately that she was a beautiful woman and looked almost identical to Ikumi-san.

She grabbed my chin to scrutinize my face even more and I found that I could not look into her eyes directly, and so I opted to avert my gaze. She let my face go to grab her pipe. "How old is she?" she asked Ikumi-san.

"Nine years old"

Okaa-san chuckled, a low and raspy voice that I would come to be familiar with, "She's too frail. And she has too much water in her"

"Oh but Aneue water is good!" Ikumi-san persuaded, "Plus she is a lovely little girl, she'll grow to be useful"

"Hah! She's too expensive. That Urahara really is a scum!" _Mother _walked slowly back to sit down. "This skinny little girl for almost the price of half a sack or rice and still wants me to buy her brother! He is insane"

At the mention of my brother, I felt tears sting my eyes. I wanted my brother! I didn't want to be here. "Where is Onii-chan! I want to go to Onii-chan!" I wailed for my brother like a spoiled brat. But Ikumi-san's hand clamped onto my mouth again.

"She will be worth something someday, Aneue, please do consider her" Ikumi-san's voice was strangely gentle. I suddenly realized that she called Okaa-san, sister. This puzzled me.

Okaa-san snorted as she blew smoke into my direction. "I have no choice, Ikumi, the child is expensive. I may as well make her useful to get my money's worth" that was all she said before she waved us off and ordered to close the door behind us.

I was still crying. And I continued to shrieked and yelled for my brother. I was not used to not having him around. All I wanted was to go back to our hut in Fugai with my brother. Nevermind Urahara-san adopting us, I only want my brother!

Forcibly, Ikumi-san led up some stairs and jostled me into a small room, an attic. Inside, a girl, about the same age as I was, hastily stood up. "Senna keep this girl quiet!" Ikumi-san barked. "Okaa-san is doing her accounting, she cannot be disturbed." I heard the faint clicking of the locks and I dropped myself on the floor, burying my head into my arms as I wept.

"Ssshhh" the girl rubbed my back, "There, there, go on cry it all out" she murmured.

"I do not want to be here" I manage to say in between sobs

"But you have no choice" she sympathetically looked at me with light brown eyes, "you cannot leave the _Okiya"_

"What is an Okiya?"

"Oh" she furrowed her brows at me, confused as to why I did not know what an Okiya was, "This is a Geisha house. This is where they live"

I scrunched my nose in confusion. "What is a Geisha?"

Again she stared at me strangely but she scrambled to her feet and fumbled for something in the corner of the attic. She came back with a piece of worn paper with a painting of a beautiful woman with face white as the wings of a swan and lips red as blood. In that moment, I remembered the woman I encountered at the gate. So she was a Geisha. I thought to myself.

"One day, if you are good and Okaa-san thinks you are good, she will send you to school and you will become a Geisha too" Senna told me enthusiastically. I appreciated that she was trying to lift my spirits but to become a Geisha was not something that I want. "But I do not want to become a Geisha!" I voiced out, "I want to go home!"

A sad sort of understanding flickered in her brown eyes, "I know" she said gently, "but you can't go back now"

I glared at her and I noticed that her eyes were a light brown that they almost appeared orange in the candlelight. "Why not?" I almost shouted at her. "I'll go back with my brother!" I insisted, the sound of my voice surprising even myself.

Again there was that sad expression on Senna's face. She plopped in front of me, looked me in the eye and said "Because you have been sold to this Okiya. Okaa-san owns you now".

My eyes widened in horror. Only then did I realize why Onii-chan was so eager to leave. Only then did I understand why he stood up to Otou-san even though I knew he was afraid.

Otou-san had sold us to Urahara-san.

Urahara-san sold me to this Okiya.

The air felt chilly even though it was relatively warm. I went numb and mind went blank. I had been sold off like some fish that needed to be processed and sent overseas. Words could not explain the pain that my tender heart was experiencing. I had lost my grandfather. I had a mother and a father but never felt as though I really had them. I was separated from my brother. And now I had lost my freedom.

There were no tears that touched my eyes when I had the realization. They were drained, as was my soul. From the small window of the attic that would become mine and Senna's room, I caught sight the small garden of the inn that was beside the Okiya. There, gleaming in the moonlight as though mocking me, was the red flowers with petals that looked like strings of blood.

Higanbana

Red Spider Liliies.

The flowers of abandonment.

**Author's Notes:**

**So what did you think? Lot's of drama right? The lullaby Orihime sings is the English translation of a famous Tagalog lullaby called Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, I encourage you all to listen to it because it is a good song. **

**Updates will be a little faster because I have like 3 chapters already roughly drafted and ready for editing but if you guys like this story and review, I will definitely update faster :)**

**Send me some love guys!**

**Till next time **

**~Ashe**


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